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Thursday, November 22, 2007

Jagdalpur (Chattisgarh, India), SVM News, November 21, 2007: A church that involving with development activities of the tribals was demolished by the activists of Sangh Parivar and Bajrang Dal on November 19 at Manduwa village near Kondagaon of Bastar District in Chattisgarh State in India.

A mob of Hindu radicals attacked Pastor Sudharu of Manduwa Church and burnt the newly constructed church on Monday about 10 at night alleging against converting people, specially tribals to Christianity.

"The attackers surrounded pastors room first, tied the pastor and beaten him up till he became unconcious," Mahesh Minj, a member of the church said to the Salem Voice Ministries (SVM) News Service.

While this time some other assailants were burning the church. Their plan was to burn alive the pastor and the people who were inside of the church building. But those who were with the pastor from his church escaped somehow. And also the church building did not burn completely. So the attackers demolished the remained parts of the church.

Korla Police registered a case and started investigation.

Rev. Rajan, the Missionary Chief of Jagdalpur area, said that the missionaries working with them do not involve any conversion activities, but working for the development of the tribals. "Yet, we face regular threat from Hindu fanatics." He said.

Paul Ciniraj, the president of the Christian Mibnisters of the Churches of India (CMCI) and Director of the Salem Voice Ministries condemned attack towards pastor Sudharu and demolishing the church.

Bhiwani (Haryana), Nov 16: Police today registered a case against eight people for their alleged involvement in physical assault on two Christian missionaries and burning their religious literature.The two students of a Mission school in Ambala were beaten up by the members of a Hindu organisation when they were distributing religious literature at Naya Bazar area here yesterday, the police said.They were taken in a procession and later, their religious literature was burnt outside their room.A case was registered in this connection against eight people, but no arrest had been made so far, they said.Security had also been provided to the local church in the town.

Sangh Parivar Radicals burnt a church and later demolished it in a Bastar village to "protest" against the "conversion drive" taken up by missionaries in tribal pockets.

On November 19th, at 9pm party Bajrang Dal activists entered Manduwa village, some 40km from Jagdalpur and 340km from Raipur, to ransack a newly constructed church before gheraoing the pastor, Sudharu, and staff. The cadre tied the pastor before beating him up. The staff, however, managed to flee from the spot. Sources said Sudharu fell unconscious after the beating.

The cadre stayed at the spot for three hours to watch the church getting burnt and to demolish whatever remained after the fire.

After receiving the information past midnight, senior officials of Jagdalpur missionary rushed to the village.

Police rushed to the spot only to find the village empty. The church authorities lodged an FIR with Korla police station in connection with the incident. No senior police officer could be contacted for their comments as they were in a daylong meeting with the chief minister in Raipur.

Pasator K. Rajan of Jagdalpur Church, , said the activists had mobilised in the village in the evening and had staged a demonstration outside the church.

Later, they retreated only to return and ransack the premises.

He, however, refuted the allegation that the church was involved in any "conversion" drive and clarified that they were working for the development of the tribals.

"The church works for humanity and will never indulge in distorting the glorious culture and tradition of tribals," he said.

He added that missionaries working in the area, totally cut off from mainstream society, are facing regular threat from Hindu fundamentalists.

Church authorities have taken a strong exception to the incident and convened a meeting to discuss the next course of action. Rajan felt that the police failed to take action against the activists involved in the incident.

Sunday, November 04, 2007

Calcutta, Nov. 3: Church authorities today demanded immediate steps for the return of their properties that have been “forcibly occupied” by government and private organisations.

They said they would be “compelled” to launch a state-wide movement in February if the government did not meet their demand by January-end. The statement came at a conference attended by more than 250 priests and heads of Christian missionary institutions.

“Government and private organisations are forcibly occupying huge properties owned by churches in Calcutta and the districts. The priests and bishops are running from pillar to post to get them back. But nothing is being done by the government,” said Bishop Brojen Malakar, who heads the Barrackpore diocese of the Church of North India (CNI).

A portion of a 17-acre plot owned by the Baptist Church in West Midnapore has been taken over by a local group to run a school, the church authorities alleged. In Murshidabad’s Jiaganj, the health department has turned a building owned by the CNI into a government hospital.The CNI says it has also lost a plot attached to a school in Dum Dum to a businessman, who has set up a petrol pump there.